Appeals
The number of incoming appeals was up marginally to a total of 1021 in 2007, but still down from the levels of the previous three years. In spite of some staffing issues that hampered productivity, there was an increase in the number of appeal decisions, reducing the backlog slightly from 2006.

The Appeals Department has a strong focus on accountability and evidence based decision making. Appeals Officers have extensive experience in WCB claims adjudication and management. The Appeals Department publishes its formal Mandate and Guiding Principles on the WCB web site. To help ensure continued accuracy and consistency in decision making, all Appeals Officers received professional Administrative Justice training again in 2007, focusing on interpreting legislation.

While the accuracy of an appeal decision is critical, timeliness is also a very important consideration. When an appeal is registered, clients are advised of the approximate time frame for their appeal to be considered. New for 2007, appellants with electronic access to their claim file may track the status of their appeal on-line.

The backlog and cycle times remained relatively flat throughout 2007. The backlog at the end of 2007 was slightly lower than 2006 at 142 appeals, while the average cycle time was slightly greater at an average of 65 days. With the department at full staff going into 2008, the target is to reduce the backlog and improve the cycle times through the first two quarters of 2008.

Statistics

Appeals Activity

	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
Appeals Received	1021	1008	1149	1077	1081
Accepted	217	209	254	266	197
Denied	546	534	801	639	422
Returned for Development	246	190	259	231	221
Total	1009	933	1314	1136	840
Withdrawn	23	42	22	42	44
Appeals Pending	142	153	120	307	408
Average days to decision	65	51	77	157	149
Appeals decided within 30 days	21.0%	24.3%	26.3%	21.9%	18.8%
Appeal Meetings	53	44	75	98	86

Nature of Appeals

	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
Issue
Initial Acceptance	333	317	359	290	269
Relationship (of condition to injury)	164	176	216	177	198
Recovery / Fitness	83	98	140	189	188
Expenses	69	47	77	29	31
Recovery / Pre-existing condition	59	57	27	67	56
Wage Loss Benefits	57	13	**	**	**
Estimated Earning Capacity	51	49	55	74	65
Cost Relief for Employer	39	70	59	67	85
Permanent Functional Impairment	34	29	44	42	43
Suspension	32	31	46	43	36
Wage Base	29	34	32	24	22
Retraining	20	18	23	23	11
Independence Allowance	18	13	22	8	14
Overpayment Recovery	17	15	4	2	*
Dependants	3	1	6	0	1
Other	13	40	39	42	62
Total	1021	1008	1149	1077	1081

* New category of appeals in 2004
** New Category of appeals in 2006

Source of Appeals

	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
Source
Worker	722	671	820	717	659
Worker's Advocate	118	109	95	114	120
Employer	70	73	65	75	116
Union Official	36	31	24	49	48
Lawyer	17	28	35	32	27
Family	6	3	10	5	14
Other Representatives	52	93	100	85	97
Total	1021	1008	1149	1077	1081

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